Well, people, I finally got a chance to put the piro in the water and spend about 45 minutes paddling it. I took it to my buddies house on the shore of Braddock Bay State Park, which is about 7 miles west of where I live. It is a bay off of Lake Ontario, where I live. It is protected from the winds that keep the lake so rough. As you recall, I had a very difficult time trying to launch in the lake with the high waves. Last sunday was the first day that I have had off in three weeks, so I went over to Bob's house to use his boat ramp to launch the piro.
I do not have a cartop carrier yet, so I just put it on the roof and strapped it down. My buddy was working on his snowmobiles and has already taken his boat lifts and boats out of the water for the season. There are snowmobiles on the trailer behind the car. Bob was tuning up his snowmobiles for the upcoming winter season when I arrived at his house. He has six snowmobiles, so he stays busy in the winter. Last year was not a good year for snow in this area, but he is hoping for more this year. And if that isn't enough, he has six boats that range in size from an alum cartop, two 20 footers for fishing in the bay and a 26 footer for the lake and a large party barge. Oh, and a fiberglass canoe.
This is as close to this piro that my wife will ever be because she does not like small boats. She gets very nervous in a small boat because she cannot swim. She even hates to go in our neighbors 40 foot sailboat!
The wind was blowing about 30 MPH from the west on this day, but because we were on the west side of the bay, we were protected from the worst of it. You can see the ripples out in the water and as long as I stayed in near the docks, I could maneuver OK.
Heading upstream(south) towards the local canoe and kayak rental store. The Braddock Bay State Park area is very popular on the weekends. There are about 2000 acres of marsh and waterland and it is protected. Every kind of waterfowl you can imagine live here, plus there is a bird raptor area run by the locals. This is one of the best fishing spots in the area. The Bay empties directly into Lake Ontario. Go to www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24428.html for more info on the bay area.
Bob's dog Jake wanted to go along but I told him that there were no freeloaders and that he would have to do his share of paddling. Dog paddling, of course!
Met a couple of ladies and they thought that the piro was really beautiful and wanted to know all about it. Wow, a chick magnet! Great idea, building boats, why didn't I think of this years ago??!!!!
It feels stable enough to stand in, so I am going to make a pole to use in the shallows. The opening in the reeds in the background goes way back in the marshy area and eventually ends up in a small village (about 10K people). The distance is about 2 miles by water but only about a mile by road. The branch that I am on goes back only about a mile into the warsh area. The main part of the bay (to my right) is about 1/4 mile wide and goes directly into the lake.
My wife helping me to take the piro out of the water. I didn't have time to do any fishing and am still working on making a platform to place across the piro to hold two rod holders and my fish finder.
So, I finally got to take it out in better weather conditions than the first launch. It paddles almost effortlessly and since I added a keel, it tracks straight as an arrow. Turning takes a little effort because of the keel and I may reduce the size of the keel, once I have a little more time to see how it handles.
The one thing that doesn't show in these photos was the big grin on my face! Or hear the sigh of contentment as I looked at the piro floating on the calm water. Damn, it floats and looks really good from a distance! A close up look reveals a few mistakes and drips and runs in the resin, but that is OK because that is what gives a boat character and I am only going to use it for fishing, so a work boat does not have to be perfect. Thanks to all of the people on this forum, I have something to be proud of.
I think I have acquired the boat building sickness because now I want to build another piro over the winter, but make it out of 1/8 ply and correct all of the mistakes I made on this one. And then in the spring, I want to build a Swamp Girl or Laker from Matt's plans.
Oh and every boat should have a name and I have decided on a name for this one. This piro is going to be called "The Helen Isabelle". I think it is only fitting that I name it after my mother, otherwise I wouldn't have had the opportunity to build this piro.
Thanks everyone for your help, ideas and support.
JC
(jim)
[/img]
I do not have a cartop carrier yet, so I just put it on the roof and strapped it down. My buddy was working on his snowmobiles and has already taken his boat lifts and boats out of the water for the season. There are snowmobiles on the trailer behind the car. Bob was tuning up his snowmobiles for the upcoming winter season when I arrived at his house. He has six snowmobiles, so he stays busy in the winter. Last year was not a good year for snow in this area, but he is hoping for more this year. And if that isn't enough, he has six boats that range in size from an alum cartop, two 20 footers for fishing in the bay and a 26 footer for the lake and a large party barge. Oh, and a fiberglass canoe.
This is as close to this piro that my wife will ever be because she does not like small boats. She gets very nervous in a small boat because she cannot swim. She even hates to go in our neighbors 40 foot sailboat!
The wind was blowing about 30 MPH from the west on this day, but because we were on the west side of the bay, we were protected from the worst of it. You can see the ripples out in the water and as long as I stayed in near the docks, I could maneuver OK.
Heading upstream(south) towards the local canoe and kayak rental store. The Braddock Bay State Park area is very popular on the weekends. There are about 2000 acres of marsh and waterland and it is protected. Every kind of waterfowl you can imagine live here, plus there is a bird raptor area run by the locals. This is one of the best fishing spots in the area. The Bay empties directly into Lake Ontario. Go to www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/24428.html for more info on the bay area.
Bob's dog Jake wanted to go along but I told him that there were no freeloaders and that he would have to do his share of paddling. Dog paddling, of course!
Met a couple of ladies and they thought that the piro was really beautiful and wanted to know all about it. Wow, a chick magnet! Great idea, building boats, why didn't I think of this years ago??!!!!
It feels stable enough to stand in, so I am going to make a pole to use in the shallows. The opening in the reeds in the background goes way back in the marshy area and eventually ends up in a small village (about 10K people). The distance is about 2 miles by water but only about a mile by road. The branch that I am on goes back only about a mile into the warsh area. The main part of the bay (to my right) is about 1/4 mile wide and goes directly into the lake.
My wife helping me to take the piro out of the water. I didn't have time to do any fishing and am still working on making a platform to place across the piro to hold two rod holders and my fish finder.
So, I finally got to take it out in better weather conditions than the first launch. It paddles almost effortlessly and since I added a keel, it tracks straight as an arrow. Turning takes a little effort because of the keel and I may reduce the size of the keel, once I have a little more time to see how it handles.
The one thing that doesn't show in these photos was the big grin on my face! Or hear the sigh of contentment as I looked at the piro floating on the calm water. Damn, it floats and looks really good from a distance! A close up look reveals a few mistakes and drips and runs in the resin, but that is OK because that is what gives a boat character and I am only going to use it for fishing, so a work boat does not have to be perfect. Thanks to all of the people on this forum, I have something to be proud of.
I think I have acquired the boat building sickness because now I want to build another piro over the winter, but make it out of 1/8 ply and correct all of the mistakes I made on this one. And then in the spring, I want to build a Swamp Girl or Laker from Matt's plans.
Oh and every boat should have a name and I have decided on a name for this one. This piro is going to be called "The Helen Isabelle". I think it is only fitting that I name it after my mother, otherwise I wouldn't have had the opportunity to build this piro.
Thanks everyone for your help, ideas and support.
JC
(jim)
[/img]
